There is considerable confusion
amongst professing Christians regarding the subject of ministry.
Some speak of “going into the ministry” and of “leaving the
ministry”, others that our whole lives are “our ministry”. Some link
ministry to gift and some do not. Many would argue that ministry is
restricted to a specific class––”the ministers” or “ministering
servants”––others that it is open to all. A few appear to link it
exclusively with teaching and exhortation––whether in written or
spoken form. So what is ministry? What does it mean when we speak of
ministering to the saints?

Several Greek words in the NT may be translated as “ministry”, but
the most important is diakonia. Its primary meaning is to
serve in the sense of being a waiter at a table, but its usage has
extended to cover all forms of service that benefit others. It must
be distinguished from the service of a doulos––the word Paul
uses in Rom. 1:1 when describing himself as a bondman or servant.
That is the service of a slave, whose work may or may not benefit
others. Diakonia, by definition, is specifically service to
others.

Three related Greek words are of importance in the study of this
subject: diakonia (a ministry or service),
diakoneo
(to minister or serve), and diakonos (a servant or minister).
Significantly, none of these words need involve anything spiritual.
The following examples illustrate this fact: “Now Martha was
distracted with much serving” (diakonia); “And he touched her
hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and served him” (diakoneo);
“And Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many
others, who ministered to him of their substance” (diakoneo);
“His mother says to the servants, Whatever he may say to you, do” (diakonos)––Luke
10: 40; Matt. 8: 15; Luke 8: 3; John 2: 5. The idea that ministry
necessarily involves service in spiritual things (let alone teaching
and exhortation) is utterly baseless. Ministry is simply service, of
whatever kind, so long as it benefits others.

Confirmation of this comes by looking at the Scriptural
record of the early Church. The seven men chosen to serve (or
minister) tables in Acts 6 were involved in a ministry of material
things––the distribution of aid to widows, a distribution known as
the “daily ministration” (v1). (Although significantly they were to
be men full of the Holy Spirit––for in the Church even a material
service requires spiritual servants.) This type of service is
mentioned in several other Scriptures: “And they determined,
according as any one of the disciples was well off, each of them to
send to the brethren who dwelt in Judaea, to minister [to them]”
(Acts 11: 29). “But now I go to Jerusalem, ministering to the
saints; for Macedonia and Achaia have been well pleased to make a
certain contribution for the poor of the saints who [are] in
Jerusalem”. (Rom. 15: 25, 26). “But we make known to you, brethren,
the grace of God bestowed in the assemblies of Macedonia; that in a
great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep
poverty has abounded to the riches of their [free–hearted]
liberality. For according to [their] power, I bear witness, and
beyond [their] power, [they were] willing of their own accord,
begging us with much entreaty [to give effect to] the grace and
fellowship of the service which [was to be rendered] to the saints”
(2 Cor. 8: 1–4). “For concerning the ministration which [is] for the
saints … Because the ministration of this service is not only
filling up the measure of what is lacking to the saints, but also
abounding by many thanksgivings to God; they glorifying God through
the proof of this ministration, by reason of your subjection, by
profession, to the glad tidings of the Christ, and your free–hearted
liberality in communicating towards them and towards all”. (2 Cor.
9: 1, 12, 13).

Every Christian service, if it benefits others, is ministry. Thus
in Acts 6 again, the twelve apostles did not wish to leave the
ministry of the Word in order to be occupied with
the
ministry of tables: “It is not right that we, leaving the
word of God, should serve tables” (v2). Both of these were
ministries in that they benefited others, the first involving the
preaching and teaching of God’s Word to others, the second involving
the distribution of material aid among His people. It was, however,
more fitting for the apostles to give themselves up “to prayer and
the ministry of the word” (v4), and leave the other work in the
hands of the seven men specially chosen for the task.

Ministry to the saints in a general and unspecified way is spoken
of in many Scriptures: “But I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the
house of Stephanas, that it is the first–fruits of Achaia, and they
have devoted themselves to the saints for service)” (1 Cor. 16: 15).
“But in order that ye also may know what concerns me, how I am
getting on, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in
[the] Lord, shall make all things known to you” (Eph. 6: 21). “Even
as ye learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow–bondman, who is a
faithful minister of Christ for you” (Col. 1: 7). “Tychicus, the
beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow–bondman in [the]
Lord, will make known to you all that concerns me” (Col. 4: 7). “The
Lord grant to him to find mercy from [the] Lord in that day––and how
much service he rendered in Ephesus thouknowest best” (2
Tim. 1: 18). “For God [is] not unrighteous to forget your work, and
the love which ye have shewn to his name, having ministered to the
saints, and [still] ministering” (Heb. 6: 10). “I know thy works,
and love, and faith, and service, and thine endurance, and thy last
works [to be] more than the first” (Rev. 2: 19).

In several instances, persons are described as ministering to the
apostle Paul (that is, acting as his attendant): “And having sent
into Macedonia two of those ministering to him, Timotheus and
Erastus, he remained himself awhile in Asia” (Acts 19: 22). “Luke
alone is with me. Take Mark, and bring [him] with thyself, for he is
serviceable to me for ministry” (2 Tim. 4: 11). “Whom I was
desirous of keeping with myself, that for thee he might minister to
me in the bonds of the glad tidings” (Philemon 13).

Every service we do on behalf of others is ministry––even the
giving of a cup of water in Christ’s name (Mark 9: 41). Thus to
speak of ministry as the expression of gift is too narrow a
definition. However, there is a sense in which each of us
has a specific ministry to fulfil, a ministry directly linked to our
gift: “Each according as he has received a gift, ministering it to
one another, as good stewards of [the] various grace of God” (1 Pet.
4: 10). The work given to each is different: “And there are
distinctions of services, and the same Lord” (1 Cor. 12: 5). (There
even appears to have been a distinct gift of ministry or
service––see Rom. 12: 7. This, like any other gift, if expressed,
was in itself a ‘ministry’). Gift is given “with a view to [the]
work of [the] ministry” (Eph. 4: 12) that is, each individual
ministry taken together make up the overall ministry of the body of
Christ. Having been given his ministry, each individual is
responsible to ensure that he carries it out: “Take heed to the
ministry which thou hast received in [the] Lord, to the end that
thou fulfil it” (Col. 4: 17). “Fill up the full measure of thy
ministry” (2 Tim. 4: 5).

The idea that ministry is restricted to a certain class––the
ministers or ministering brothers––is a serious error. Every
Christian has a gift and ought to be ministering that gift.
Attention has been drawn to 1 Cor. 3: 5 which speaks of “ministering
servants”. This seems to imply that there are some servants who
minister and some who do not, (“ministering servants” literally
means “serving servants”). However, the Greek text has only
one word not two––diakonos––which means, simply, “ministers”
or “servants”. The introduction of the adjective “ministering” is
unwarranted. Another misconception is the notion of “going into the
ministry”, a phrase generally understood to mean leaving a secular
occupation for a spiritual one. Again, this has its roots in the
erroneous idea of a ministerial class. The fact is that every
Christian ought to be ‘going into the ministry’––all have a gift,
and all ought to be expressing it. Almost the first question that
Paul asked on being converted was “What shall I do, Lord?”
(Acts 22: 10)––and this was before he had any inkling that his was
to be in any way a ‘special’ ministry. He assumed, rightly, that his
conversion involved not only his personal safety but the
commencement of his service for the Master. Thus “straightway in the
synagogues he preached Jesus that he is the Son of God” (Acts
9: 20).

Paul’s is also the clearest example in the NT of an individual
ministry. He speaks of “my ministry” (Rom. 11: 13)––the service that
God gave him to do. As one of “God’s ministers” (2 Cor. 6: 4), he
was very conscious of the grace of God in “appointing to ministry
him who before was a blasphemer and persecutor, and an insolent
overbearing [man]” (1 Tim. 1: 13). The character of his ministry is
spelt out in several passages: “But our competency [is] of God; who
has also made us competent, [as] ministers of [the] new covenant” (2
Cor. 3: 5, 6). “And all things [are] of the God who has reconciled
us to himself by [Jesus] Christ, and given to us the ministry of
that reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5: 18). “That [they who are of] the
nations should be joint heirs, and a joint body, and joint partakers
of [his] promise in Christ Jesus by the glad tidings; of which I am
become minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to
me, according to the working of his power” (Eph. 3: 6, 7). “If
indeed ye abide in the faith founded and firm, and not moved away
from the hope of the glad tidings, which ye have heard, which have
been proclaimed in the whole creation which [is] under heaven, of
which I Paul became minister. Now, I rejoice in sufferings
for you, and I fill up that which is behind of the tribulations of
Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the assembly; of which
I
became minister, according to the dispensation of God which [is]
given me towards you to complete the word of God” (Col. 1: 23–25).

Of course Christendom has often exalted the individual ministry of
one to the detriment of others. Thus people speak of the
minister of a church. Now while this may be viewed as an orthodox
state of affairs, it has no foundation in Scripture whatsoever. To
appeal to Rev. 2 and 3, as many do, only demonstrates the difficulty
they have in finding scriptural evidence to support their view.
Sadly, for them, the only similarity between today’s 'official'
ministers and the angels of the seven assemblies is their
singularity. A tenuous link indeed! Having said this, I fully admit
that there is in Scripture such a thing as the office
of a minister. Thus Paul writes to the Philippians: “Paul and
Timotheus, bondmen of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ
Jesus who are in Philippi, with [the] overseers and ministers” (1:
1). The list of qualifications in 1 Tim. 3: 8–13 would suggest that
these were appointed persons. The fact that they are dealt with
after the overseers might suggest that they had a lesser role.
Beyond this little can be said about these ‘servants of the
church’––it is usually assumed that Phoebe (Rom. 16: 1) and the
seven men of Acts 6 were such, although there is no conclusive
evidence. The latter, as we have seen, were appointed to serve
tables (see Acts 6: 2). Of course Christendom has no shortage of
'appointed' ministers. Sadly, the connection between their 'office'
and that presented in Scripture is often somewhat dubious. Certainly
there is nothing in the Word of God that connects them with
preaching, teaching or leadership. Stephen certainly had a place of
prominence (Acts 6: 8–10), but it is pure imagination to assert that
everything he did was carried out in his capacity as an appointed
minister––assuming he was one. It cannot be emphasised enough that
where Scripture is silent it is incumbent upon us to be silent as
well––rather than to add our thoughts to God’s Word.

From all of this it can be seen that ministry is a wide and varied
subject. Its meaning, however, remains simple––the service of
others––that which so marked the Lord Himself while here on earth.